In an interview in Arabic, Lieberman addresses electricity cut: Pay, and you'll get electricity

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman was interviewed by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories in Arabic and said that Israel has no problem supplying electricity to Gaza, but it is not the one that has to pay for it. Lieberman appealed directly to the Palestinians in Gaza: "Demand that Hamas invests in health and education instead of in terrorism."

In an interview in Arabic with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman blamed the Palestinian Authority for the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip. "If they [the Palestinians] pay, they will get electricity," he said. "If they don't pay, they won't."

The defense minister emphasized that Israel has no problem supplying the electricity, but that it shouldn't be the one to pay for it. Lieberman added that the situation in Gaza is still difficult a decade after Hamas took over control of the Gaza Strip.

Lieberman also called on the residents of the Gaza Strip to demand that Hamas invest in the health and education system instead of tunnels and terror. He made it clear, however, that Israel is "prepared to accommodate residents of the Gaza Strip" if it is demilitarized.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the issue during a visit to the IDF's Southern Command last Tuesday, which, due to rising tensions following the electricity cut, was moved from the headquarters of the Gaza Division to the command headquarters in Be'er Sheva. "Israel is not facing escalation," Netanyahu said. However, Hamas has threatened that "the reduction of electricity will lead to a big explosion."